Vapor bubble approaching a superheated wall

The details of the flow and temperature fields during the bubble-wall interaction process are presented with the aid of contours of volume fraction and iso-lines of mixture temperature. Heat transfer rates of the wall, microlayer and wake are quantified and related to overall bubble dynamics. The total wall heat flux enhancement is 6-7 times the precursor value during the initial wall interaction of a single FC-87 vapor bubble, of 1 mm initial radius, approaching a 10° inclined plate with 2 °C as the maximum superheat. Good overall agreement of bubble dynamics and microlayer thicknesses is observed between the simulations and experiments of Li [22]. This simulation of the approach regime of the bubble-wall interaction on an efficient grid provides the platform and the initial and boundary conditions necessary to study the sliding bubble problem for longer times.